Fastening for refrigerator-doors



(No Model.)

, I R. G. CHASE.

FASTENING FOR REFRIGERATOR DOORS.

Patented Mar Hlllllllllllllllllllll EIRIHIEI A'rsN'r RODNEY G. CHASE, OF ELSDON, ILLINOIS.

FASTENING FOR REFRIGERATOR-DOORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 516,296, dated March 13, 1894.

Application filed December 3, 1892. Serial No. 54,429. (No model.) 7

T0 aZ Z whom it 72mg concern.-

l 3e 1t known that I, RODNEY G. CHASE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Els- 'don,-in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastenin gs for Ref rigerator- ]?oors, of which the following is a specificatron, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention is intended to provide a fastening for refrigerator doors which shall by the act of securing it draw the door firmly shut and by its release start the door open, thus dispensing with the necessity of prying or hammering upon the doorin order to open and close it. A further purpose is to insure the tight closure of the door notwithstanding slight inaccuracies in the placing or fitting of the fastener. It is intended specially for the doors of refrigerator cars as they are very liable to stick and be difficult of operation, owing to their exposure to the weather, and in consequence of the racking of the cars.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of the door and frame to which the fastening is attached." Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same. Fig. 3 is a side view like Fig.1 except that the fastening is shown in the open or released position instead of its closed position. Fig. 4 is aview on a larger scale of the socket which is attached to the door frame.

A is the car door to which is pivoted a hand lever B. Upon each side of the pivotal point C of said hand lever are secured the ends of the locking bars D and E. The outer ends .61, e of these bars are bent so as to incline toward the door frame as seen in Fig. 2. Near the outer edge of the door are secured stirrups F, G through which the bars may slide.

Secured to the door frame above and below are sockets H, I which are provided with recesses (best seen in Figs. 2 and 4) for the reception of the ends of the bars D, E. These recesses are so shaped that when the bar first enters, its bent end comes in contact with the sloping wall 72.,2' at the entrance of the recess, but when the bars are fully projected as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the straight part'of the bar comes in contact with the straight wall hyi so that there is no tendency to force back the locking bars by any pressure on the door. The inner walls of the recesses in the sockets H, I have sloping portions h 2' and straight portions 71 2' upon which the inner side of the locking bars may act when they are withdrawn. The-effect is, that when the locking bars are projected, the door is drawn closely shut, and by means of the straight the amountof draw on the door produced by the beveled end of the bars. Thus a difficulty experienced with the use of looking bars having bent ends which fit into iuclinedsockets is obviated, for it is apparent that in such sockets the slightest difference in the placing of the sockets or the slightest inaccuracy in the length of the bars themselves, results in the corresponding difference in the position of the door. It is obvious, furthermore, that the relative proportions of the inclined and straight bearing walls of,the sockets may be considerably varied without altering the..operation of the device, in fact the straight portions h i need be no more than sufficient to afford a proper backing to the inclined faces 7?, i which are the operating faces in opening the door. And it is further obvious that the bearing face h, t' can be also reduced, it being only necessary that the total amount of draw furnished by the joint action of the inclined faces 71 and t'and the outer surfaces of the bent ends at, e of the locking bars be sufficient to operate the door satisfactorily. It

is obvious, furthermore, that only a single locking bar is absolutely necessary, but in almost all instances two locking bars are preferable as a tighter joint can be thereby secured.

I claim- A door-fastening, comprising a socket having oppositely disposed inclined and straight surfaces, a locking-bar having at its end 0ppositely disposed inclined and straight bearing-portions and means for moving the locking-bar into and out of the socket; the inclined and straight bearing-surfaces of the socket serving as bearings for the inclined and straight bearing-portions of the lockingbar, whereby one set of inclined and straight I bearing portions are brought successively mazes into action during the protraction of the locking-bar, and the opposite set of inclined and straight bearing-portions are brought successively into action during the retraction of said bar, substantially as set forth.

RODNEY G. CHASE.

Witnesses:

TODD MASON, 0. R. BARRETT. 

